The greatest players in NBA history were all gathered together in Cleveland as the NBA's Top 75 players of all-time were honored during the All-Star Weekend festivities. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was excited to be around all the legends of the game, but there was one man, in particular, he was most infatuated with on the evening: Dallas Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki.

Dirk and Giannis were the only two Europeans on the NBA Top 75 list and the Bucks star was vocal about what it meant to be the next one in line who entered the list after the German led the way.

“There were only two Europeans on this (75th) team right? That’s insane. I mean okay, sitting next to Michael Jordan and stuff, that’s great. LeBron James, Carmelo, John Stockton, Ray Allen. But having the opportunity to sit next to Dirk that kind of opened the path for us, that’s even more of an incredible feeling for me.”

While Giannis is obviously honored to be there right beside Dirk Nowitzki, he's also looking forward to others following in his own footsteps. Guys like Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic are well on their way to making the NBA Top 100 list if they stay on their current trajectory.

“I watched him play when I was a kid when he was winning a championship for the Dallas Mavericks,” the Bucks star continued on Dirk. “He was one of us. He came from Europe. Hopefully Luka, Jokic, more European's can follow Dirk's lead and my lead.”

With the NBA game going more global by the season, the list of foreign-born players filling the ranks of the subsequent list is an absolute certainty. There will be new names gushing over being there alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, the man who brought a title to the Bucks the same way Dirk brought one to the Mavs, in no time.